More than half of all smartphones sold by Apple in June were the latest-generation iPhone 5, according to new data, while the iPhone 4S, first released in 2011, accounted for 30 percent of sales.

With the iPhone 5 taking 52 percent and the iPhone 4S earning 30 percent of sales, the remaining 18 percent were iPhone 4 sales, according to data released on Monday by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners to AppleInsider.

The data shows how the average selling price of the iPhone has steadily declined, as customers have increasingly turned to the legacy iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. When the iPhone 5 first launched, early adopters helped push it to 68 percent of all iPhone sales in October 2012, but its share quickly eased to 50 percent by December.

"iPhone 5 appears to have settled in at about half of all iPhone sales, nine months after its initial launch," CIRP said. "In contrast, the earlier flagship model, iPhone 4S, accounted for almost three-quarters of iPhone sales almost a year after its launch. Furthermore, iPhone 4S had 90 percent of all iPhone sales in the period immediately after launch , compared to about 70 percent for iPhone 5."

The data is yet another example of how the average selling price of the iPhone has declined as the smartphone market matures. Some market watchers expect that future growth in the smartphone space will come largely from low- and mid-tier handsets.

That's helped to fuel speculation that Apple will launch a new mid-tier iPhone this year that would allow the company to expand its addressable market. There have also been leaked renderings, 3D mockups, and even alleged parts of the anticipated "iPhone Lite."

Another element of growth for Apple has been carrier expansion, and the data released Monday by CIRP found that Apple's latest carrier partner in the U.S., T-Mobile, accounted for 12 percent of American sales. That meant T-Mobile exceeded Sprint, even though Sprint has a larger install base.

T-Mobile's strong start took share from AT&T, which dropped from 49 percent of sales to 44 percent, as well as Verizon, which fell from 39 percent to 34 percent. As the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S., T-Mobile has more aggressive pricing than its competitors and attracts budget-minded consumers, which could make it a key player if Apple were to release an "iPhone Lite."

Finally, CIRP's data found that more than half of iPhone buyers in June were upgrading from a competing platform or were buying their first smartphone. While 24 percent were switching from standard mobile phones, 26 percent jumped from Google's Android platform, and 7 percent came from BlackBerry. Among existing iPhone users, most  18 percent  were upgrading from the iPhone 4, while 13 percent came from the iPhone 4S.

So what is the report based on? Same method (guesses ) that some of the other analysts use?

Actual model sales data from carriers and third-party resellers? Probably not but there's nothing explaining how they came up with the statistics. Perhaps they have very reliable data that identifies the specific model involved in each "sale" but if so they don't mention it nor where it comes from. Perhaps AI could expand on it a bit more.

Once possible reason: The 4S does not LACK any of the features of the 5.

In other words, there's nothing the 5 can do the 4S cannot.

That should change with iOS7 and the 5S.

There is just no end to people's lack of understanding.

Is it really that hard to understand? Do you honestly need it spelled out?

P.R.I.C.E.

The reason 30% of Apple's iPhone sales last month were a 2011 phone is because it was HALF the up front cost of the iPhone 5. There are a lot of people that simply don't care. There are a lot of people that are not going to make a buying decision based on much else other than PRICE....

50% iPhone 5
30% iPhone 4S..

That leaves the remaining 20%....which was the iPhone 4. Again, major price influenced decision here. This has been the case almost every year since Apple started offering last year's phone, and the one before that as Free.

THIS is why Apple is being smart this year, and finally building a NEW phone to introduce into the $0 w/ contract and $99 w/ contract price point. These points are HUGE< MASSIVE < UNBELIVABLE. And account for HALF, 50% of all of Apple's iPhone sales at any given time.

THIS is why Apple is being smart this year, and finally building a NEW phone to introduce into the $0 w/ contract and $99 w/ contract price point. These points are HUGE< MASSIVE < UNBELIVABLE. And account for HALF, 50% of all of Apple's iPhone sales at any given time.

Thanks for all that proof, by the way.

Never mind that Apple has made 75% of the profit in the ENTIRE CELL PHONE INDUSTRY by (according to you) "not being smart".

Is it really that hard to understand? Do you honestly need it spelled out?
...

THIS is why Apple is being smart this year, and finally building a NEW phone to introduce into the $0 w/ contract and $99 w/ contract price point. These points are HUGE< MASSIVE < UNBELIVABLE. And account for HALF, 50% of all of Apple's iPhone sales at any given time.

Am I confused? This is talking about sales and if the iPhone 5 costs 2x what the iPhone 4S costs (I have had friends being offered the iPhone 4S for free, so on the sales front, it would be $0) so are they moving more iPhone 4S's then iPhone 5's?

So to track this by sales seems a little misleading as they move less of the more expensive model (iPhone 5) and more of the cheaper model (iPhone 4S, or iPhone 4) and the sales is higher on the iPhone 5, yet they move more of the iPhone 4S (by my rought calculation). After looking at Verizons website, they only offer the 16gb model, so they could move (4) iPhone 4S's and (1) iPhone 5 64gb and the sales are equal, yet the quantity is totally different. I read this article at first thinking they are trying to say that more people are adapting to the iPhone 5, but now I think just the opposite, that people dont really care as much as the percentages they are stating say.